I don’t like you now, and I won’t… (2)

【Zuo Manman】: Sister Qianling, I’m done with the college entrance exams. I’m playing at your place with Mom and Dad.

【Zuo Manman】: Can I use your iPad to play games?

This was Yue Qianling’s little cousin. She was a good student and obedient, and the whole family liked her.

However, Yue Qianling wasn’t in the mood to ask more questions at the moment and typed absentmindedly.

【Glutinous Rice Twist】: Sure.

【Zuo Manman】: Can I log in to your game account directly?

【Zuo Manman】: You have so many beautiful clothes.

【Zuo Manman】: Eyes wide open.jpg

【Glutinous Rice Twist】: My account has a very high rank, so it will match with strong opponents. Can you handle it?

【Zuo Manman】: I’ll duo queue with my great god classmate!

【Glutinous Rice Twist】: Then you can log in directly.

【Zuo Manman】: Thank you, sister! I won’t mess with anything inside!

Just after sending the message, Yue Qianling noticed a commotion around her. Before she could raise her head, Yin Xue and Fang Qingqing patted her arms from both sides.

“Look, it’s Gu Xun.”

Yue Qianling turned her head to look. Twenty people were divided into two rows, and Gu Xun stood at the far end of the second row, yet he was still the most conspicuous one.

She could feel that almost everyone’s eyes were focused on him.

Yue Qianling stared at him, from the awarding of graduation certificates to the tassel ceremony, and as he followed the procession off the stage.

Yue Qianling’s gaze followed him until he returned to his seat.

Finally knowing where he was sitting, Yue Qianling’s eyes never left him, and she didn’t find the graduation ceremony long or boring.

Three or four hours passed in the blink of an eye.

When the host announced the end of the ceremony, half of the people in the venue had already left, and the remaining ones exited in an orderly manner from various exits.

This was the perfect opportunity.

Yue Qianling took a deep breath and handed her bag to Yin Xue.

“Can you help me take this back to the dormitory? I have something to do. I’ll be back later.”

Before Yin Xue and Fang Qingqing could ask her what it was, they saw her getting up and walking toward the other side.

The gymnasium was quite large, with a distance of several hundred meters from one end to the other. Yue Qianling had only walked halfway when Gu Xun had already gone out from the exit.

Feeling anxious, she held the hem of her graduation gown and began to jog.

She ran all the way to the exit, where the school had set up a graduation wall. Many people were taking photos there, and the crowd was coming and going. Yue Qianling couldn’t see Gu Xun anywhere for a while.

Just then, her phone rang again. It was a call from a senior sister who had already graduated.

While looking for Gu Xun, Yue Qianling answered the call.

“Qianling, you just finished attending the graduation ceremony, right?”

Yue Qianling absentmindedly responded, “Uh-huh, what’s wrong?”

“Well, our company’s Director Wei has been on a business trip in Jiangcheng these days. Today, he happened to have some free time, so I thought of taking care of the junior fellow students and inviting Director Wei to the school for an exchange meeting. Our department head is receiving him right now. Do you want to come? It’s perfect timing since you just graduated. Maybe Director Wei will appreciate you, and there might be better development opportunities for you in the future.”

Of course, Yue Qianling knew about Director Wei. He was the producer of a popular online game in China.

Having the chance to have a face-to-face conversation with him was an opportunity that many industry professionals dreamt of. She didn’t expect to fall on her like this.

However, she had finally made the decision to confess to Gu Xun. If she missed this chance, she didn’t know when she would be able to muster the courage again.

While hesitating, her gaze inadvertently swept over a corner next to the graduation wall, only to find Gu Xun standing there.

He had already taken off his graduation gown and was wearing a simple white short-sleeved shirt, looking at the camera with no expression.

A girl was excitedly standing next to Gu Xun, making a heart, while another girl squatted across from them to take their picture.

There were also several other girls around, seemingly waiting for their turn to take a photo.

She didn’t know how many there were, but Yue Qianling clearly felt that Gu Xun’s patience was about to run out.

Yue Qianling pursed her lips.

After waiting for a while, the senior sister asked, “Qianling, are you coming?”

Yue Qianling thought for a moment and asked, “Senior sister, how long will the exchange meeting last?”

“Probably a little over an hour, and we’ll go for a meal afterward.”

“Senior sister, then is it okay if I come over later?” Yue Qianling looked at Gu Xun and said solemnly, “I have something urgent to attend to right now.”

“Sure, hurry up then.”

***

When the sixth girl came up to take a photo with Gu Xun, he became clearly impatient.

His mood was already irritable today, the weather was hot and humid, and he had been stuck in the gymnasium for several hours, and the counselor was sitting next to him, so he didn’t even have a chance to leave early.

As soon as he came out, he was again pulled over by several unfamiliar classmates to take photos. He thought about turning around and leaving several times but considering that they were all classmates from the same department, he restrained himself.

But judging from the situation, the group photo would never end. If he kept taking photos, he might as well go to the school museum and become a wax figure.

“Sorry, I have something to do.”

He left these words and turned to leave.

Suddenly, he heard someone calling him.

Turning around, he saw the counselor waving at him.

Gu Xun furrowed his brows and glanced around.

Just now, he clearly heard another girl calling him.

In a moment, the counselor had already walked over to him.

“Leaving already? Wait a minute. Professor Zhang is coming to take a photo with everyone.”

Professor Zhang was not a professor for undergraduate students, but Gu Xun had worked on several experimental projects with him.

Thinking that Professor Zhang was retiring this year, Gu Xun nodded.

However, he didn’t stay in place but went to sit on a bench under the shade of a tree.

The sharp and piercing sound of cicadas lingered in his ears like a magic melody, the thunder rumbled, and heavy rain was about to fall, while the occasional hot wind also carried a restless breath.

Gu Xun opened his phone, and clicked on *Yue Qianling’s chat box, but his action stopped there.

^[1]*I think this is a mistake on author’s part, should be Xiao Mahua

A few minutes later, the phone suddenly vibrated.

Gu Xun immediately swiped the screen, only to see Xiao Mai talking in the group.

​​【Xiao Mai】: It’s the weekend today! Is no one playing chicken?

​​【Xiao Mai】: Where is everyone???

​​【Xiao Mai】: Forget it, no one cares about me, I’ll go practice at the training ground myself.

Gu Xun frowned and closed his phone.

Before long, it started vibrating again.

He opened it again, and it was Xiao Mai again, who had only sent a question mark.

Gu Xun didn’t want to look anymore and was about to turn off the screen when Xiao Mai suddenly mentioned someone.

​​【Xiao Mai】: @GlutinousRiceTwist, why are you in a duo?

​​【Xiao Mai】: Do you have a dog outside???

Another muffled thunderclap echoed, and the sparrows from the vegetation behind him suddenly flew up, flapping their wings as they passed by Gu Xun.

He leaned back, avoiding contact with the sparrows, and then opened the game with a frown.

Sure enough, the friend list showed that she was in the game.

Gu Xun clicked into her spectating view and looked at the upper-left corner immediately.

—Jiangcheng Sharpshooter 001.

Looking at the center of the screen, a male character was frantically looting.

Gu Xun smirked.

What the hell is this middle-aged man doing?

Immediately afterward, Xiao Mahua carried a sniper rifle, charged into close combat with someone, and then fell into a pool of blood. The male character immediately ran over to help her.

Acting noob?

Do you think that’s cute?

Gu Xun couldn’t stand it anymore and exited the spectating view.

As soon as he turned off the screen, someone suddenly called his name softly.

The voice seeped into his ears, and Gu Xun was momentarily dazed.

Then, he slowly raised his head.

Yue Qianling stood timidly in front of him, wearing her graduation gown. There was a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, and she bit her lips tightly, her gaze flickering as she looked at him.

Gu Xun came back to his senses, met her eyes for a moment, and let out a heavy sigh.

“What’s the matter?”

Yue Qianling nervously clasped her hands and fidgeted with her fingers.

The environment was very quiet, but her ears were buzzing, as if her ears were ringing, making it hard for her to hear her own voice.

“Do you… have a girlfriend?”

As soon as these words came out, Gu Xun basically guessed what Yue Qianling wanted to say.

He turned his face away, rubbed his neck, and coldly said, “Just say what you have to say.”

Yue Qianling’s heart was beating erratically, thumping loudly. She couldn’t believe how red her face was at the moment, and she was almost speaking out of instinct.

“Actually, I… I’ve always liked you… Can I… have a chance?”

The air fell silent for a long time.

Yue Qianling was standing, and Gu Xun was sitting. She couldn’t divert her gaze away from him.

Gu Xun didn’t seem surprised by what she said. He opened his mouth to say something, but then held back and said, “I don’t like you.”

Those four words were like bolts of lightning, striking Yue Qianling one after another.

Her brain suddenly went blank, her gaze froze, and she even forgot to breathe.

Only her lips moved unconsciously, but her voice was so weak that she couldn’t even hear it herself.

Seeing that she was still standing there as if she wanted to say something, Gu Xun stood up, took a deep breath, and spoke one word at a time.

“I don’t like you now, and I won’t like you in the future. You are simply not my type.”

The cicadas in midsummer sounded far and near, the fragrance of gardenias floated in the air, and the dreams and longings belonging to Yue Qianling were shattered by his words, carried away by the wind.

A loud thunderclap finally fell from the sky.